A Very Clueless Dragon Slayer
by Andril
Summary: Igneel never disappeared in X777 but now that its X784, he's been recalled back to the world of dragons. What will Natsu do now that his father has left? He doesn't know a thing about human society. Good thing he meet's Mermaid Heel's Kagura Mikazuchi right off the bat. Watch Natsu learn what to do, and what not to do in human society. I do not own Fairy Tail (R&R) M for the future
1. Chapter 1

The year was X784 and Natsu Dragneel was, as he had been many times before, bored out of his mind. He was sitting leaned up against a tree in a vast forest. He had on his familiar loose white pants, black vest with gold trim that showed off his muscular chest and abs, and the white scaled scarf wrapped around his neck. He muttered glumly, "I can't believe Igneel is taking so long, this is so boring."

He had to wait awhile, but he was rewarded for his patience when he heard the powerful flap of wings and felt the rush of wind that signaled Igneel's return. He jumped up and ran over to where Igneel had landed in a large clearing shouting, "What took so long!"

Small jets of fire spouted from Igneel's nostrils as he snorted, "Boy, it took less time than I said it would! You just haven't learned any patience!"

Natsu grinned, "Patience is boring. I'd rather do some training, or go fight something!"

Igneel shook his large head and said, "I'm sure that you'll have your fill of that in the days to come."

Natsu looked puzzled, "What are you talking about Igneel?"

The large red dragon sighed, almost sending Natsu bowling over, "I must leave Natsu. I have been recalled back to the world of the dragons."

Natsu's mouth gaped open for a moment before shouting, "Alright! That sounds like fun! I bet there are a lot of strong dragons to fight!"

Igneel laughed, "Of course that's where your mind would jump. No Natsu, I cannot take you back with me, the land of the dragons is not for a human to live in."

The pink haired dragon slayer still didn't get it, "What are you saying Igneel?"

Igneel growled at him, "Natsu! Listen for once. I have to leave, and you can't come with me. I probably will not be coming back."

Natsu heard and it took him a second to get it. When he did though, tears sprang into his eyes and he jumped on Igneel, hugging his snout, "Don't leave Igneel! What would I do without you?"

The dragon said gently, well gently for a dragon, "You're 16 Natsu; you have to get out into the human world. I've trained you as well as I could and you have been a son to me. It's time you became your own person. If you were a dragon I'd have kicked you out years ago."

Natsu slid off of his snout and stood standing on the ground in front of the dragon pouting, "But I don't want to live in the human world. I like living in the woods."

The great dragon laughed again, "Bah. You'll like it boy, take my word for it. You'll find a nice girl and make some grandchildren for me."

Natsu only shook his head sadly, still trying to wrap his head around Igneel's departure. He felt Igneel's snout nudge him in the chest, knocking him over, and Igneel said, "Come, climb up on my back and I'll take you to the nearest village before I have to depart."

Natsu grumbled but hoisted himself up onto Igneel's back. The dragon lifted off with a beat of his wings and then soared into the air. Natsu reveled in the feel of the air rushing past his face and blowing his hair every which way. They flew over the forest and over some rolling hills after that. They finally came on a nestled between two hills. Igneel circled it and then landed on one of the hills, perhaps a quarter of a mile away from it.

Natsu hopped down and walked around to face Igneel. He looked sullen and Igneel said, "It's alright Natsu, I'm sure you will find your way in this world without me."

Natsu grumbled, "That doesn't mean I have to like it."

They talked for a while, reminiscing about the past. It was clear that Igneel didn't want to leave and Natsu was desperate for every second he could get with his pseudo-father. After a few minutes they both smelled something and turned to see a girl running up to them. She looked a bit younger than Natsu and had long dark purple hair with bangs cut just above her eyes. She wore a white coat with golden trim, underneath was a smart white collared shirt and a red tie. The outfit was finished with a short white skirt and black tights tucked into knee high boots.

She was panting as she ran up the hill, and held an unsheathed sword in one hand and its sheath in the other. They both eyed her as she ran up and shouted, "Leave your threatening position above this village Dragon! I will smite you down to defend it!"

Igneel and Natsu glanced at each other. Natsu then burst out laughing and rumbles could be heard coming from Igneel's chest that indicated his amusement. The girl looked angry at this and shouted, "What are you laughing about! Just because I'm young doesn't mean I can't defeat you."

Natsu wiped a tear from his eye and said to her, "No, it's not that, we just think it's funny that you think you could beat Igneel and me."

For the first time the girl seemed to notice Natsu. She looked puzzled and asked, "What are you doing with a dragon? How has it not eaten you yet?"

This caused more laughter on the part of the dragon and dragon slayer. Natsu finally said, "Igneel is my dad. There's no way he would eat me. Well, there was one time, but he was asleep."

Igneel looked over the girl standing in front of them and said to Natsu, "See. This is the kind of girl I was talking about. If she's headstrong and bold enough to run out here and face down a dragon, she can deal with your insanity."

Natsu groaned, "Stop with that already Igneel."

The girl looked like she was getting angry, "What the hell is going on here!"

Natsu explained, "Well. Igneel found me about 12 years ago and took me in. He's been my dad for the past 12 years, but now he has to go back to the land of the dragons. So, he's making me go live with humans now. He's just dropping me off in a town before leaving."

She looked stunned, "Oh. So you're not going to attack the town?"

Igneel's laugh sounded like a thunderstorm, "No, I am not. Now Natsu, she seems like a smart young woman. You should stick with her for a while and maybe she'll show you how human society works, because I have no idea."

Natsu nodded, "That sounds like a pretty good idea. Thanks Igneel!"

Igneel nodded and then said, "Goodbye Natsu. I know you'll do well in life. Never back down from a fight. Find yourself a new family, and then give everything you have to defend it."

With those parting words of advice, his wings beat once and he rose up into the air and soared off into the distance. Natsu stood watching him go with tears in his eyes. When Igneel was finally out of sight he turned to see the girl watching him curiously. He said rather brusquely, "What?"

She answered, "I've never met someone raised by a dragon before. Tell me, what is your name?"

This got a smile out of him, "I'm Natsu Dragneel!"

She answered him with a small bow, "I am Kagura Mikazuchi of Mermaid Heel. Please to make your acquaintance."

Natsu was puzzled, "Mermaid Heel?"

Kagura smiled and said, "Yes, it is the mage's guild I belong to."

The pink haired dragon slayer asked, "What is a mages guild?"

She looked mildly bemused, "You really don't know anything about the world do you."

He shrugged and grinned, "Not a thing. I've lived in the forest most of my life."

She sighed, sheathing her sword, and said, "Alright. Come on, it's not like I can just leave you here to fend for yourself. You're like a child."

He grinned and jumped closer to her and surprised her with a hug, "Thanks Kagura! You're the best!"

She wormed her way out of the hug and yelled, "Don't get so familiar with people! That's your first lesson!"

Natsu was confused, "Why not?"

She shook her head at him and said, "Because it's not polite, and some people don't like being hugged."

Natsu scratched his head, "Who doesn't like getting hugged? Hugs are the best. Igneel could give me a hug with one claw."

Kagura grimaced at him, "It's just not polite Natsu."

He shrugged at her, "Whatever." His stomach rumbled then and he asked brightly, "So where can we get some food?"

She turned and started walking back to town and he followed her. She said as they walked, "Do you have any jewels?"

He only looked confused again, "Jewels?"

Kagura grumbled, "Of course not. Fine, I'll buy some food for you just this once."

He was about to leap and hug her again when she stopped him with her sheathed sword and growled, "No more hugs."

The sixteen year old dragon slayer pouted and said, "Fine, have it your way."

He then asked, "So what is a mages guild? You didn't explain it to me."

She smiled as she explained, "A mages guild is a place where mages can come together and find work. You find all sorts in mages guilds but when you join one you all become friends. It's a home."

Natsu smiled back at her, "That sounds pretty nice. Maybe I should find one of those and join."

She was about to answer when there was a rumbling in the distance. Both of them looked off to their right and saw men riding in three magic four wheelers coming at them. Kagura cursed, "Damnit! Those bandits picked the perfect time. They're going to be able to surround me."

She turned to tell Natsu to make a run for it but one look at the vehicles had made him fall on the ground green in the face. She looked at him curiously for a moment and then went back to her task. The four wheelers approached and then skidded to a stop in a triangular formation around Kagura and Natsu. Five large men piled out of each of the vehicle and stood in a loose circle around the two.

One man, dressed a bit more finely than the others stepped forward and said, "What does this town think it's doing, sending two kids to take us out, I don't think they're showing us enough respect."

Since the vehicles had stopped Natsu was able to stand back up, albeit still being slightly wobbly. He mumbled, "Who are these guys?"

Kagura hissed back, "They're bandits, who have been robbing this town and the travelers around it. I was sent to defeat them and put them in jail."

Natsu suddenly seemed to perk up, "So we can fight them?"

Kagura unsheathed her sword and said, "I will fight them. You stay back so you don't get hurt. Their leader is a mage."

The leader grinned, "We'll have fun with this one. Get 'em boys."

The bandits rushed in. Kagura held out one hand, the hand with the sheath in it, and it glowed a soft gold. Suddenly, the five bandits rushing them from that side were smashed into the earth. She didn't have time to use the same trick on the other bandits and had to resort to her sword to strike down the 9 others. It took her a minute to dispatch all of them but by the time she was done she was breathing heavily.

Natsu watched it all from where he had backed up next to one of the vehicles and thought to himself, 'Dang she's pretty good. Although I wish she'd let me in on the fight. Maybe I should ask if we can fight later. Although that might be rude. Gah, this human stuff is hard.'

While he was thinking all this Kagura stood facing the leader of the bandits. The man grinned and said, "You used up too much energy beating my underlings. There is no way you can beat me little girl."

She was still out of breath but said, "I will not lose to someone as dishonorable as a bandit."

The large man grinned and held out his right hand, pointing his fingers at Kagura and shouting, "**Flame Detonation!**"

Small balls of fire flew out of his fingers and shot towards Kagura who dodged by jumping high in the air. This didn't perturb the enemy mage who only grinned and raised his arm until his fingers were pointing at the girl again. Unnoticed by Kagura, the balls of fire hadn't just flown towards her original position, they had followed her as the man lifted his arms. She was about to use her magic again when they flew up and detonated around her. She was flung back and slammed into the magic vehicle that Natsu was standing next too.

She groaned from her position on the ground, "Run away Natsu, I used to much energy and he's too strong for me to take on right now. I'll hold him off until you get away."

Natsu grinned at her and she looked surprised, "This guy is strong? I could take him in my sleep."

Her eyes bulged in shock as he stepped in front of her and shouted, "Alright Mr. bandit guy. I'm your opponent now."

The man didn't bother to answer as he shouted, "**Flame Detonation!**" again and the little balls of fire shot towards Natsu. Kagura shouted, "Run!" but Natsu held his ground. The flames detonated around them but Natsu only opened his mouth and sucked the flames in, belching when they had all been funneled into his mouth. Both Kagura and the bandit had looks of complete and utter shock on their faces as he said, "Damn that was nasty. Are you sure that was fire?"

The bandit shouted, "What the hell are you?"

Natsu slammed his fists together and fire coalesced around them, "I'm Natsu Dragneel, the Fire Dragon Slayer."

He shot forward shouting, "**Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon!**" and punching the shocked man in the face, throwing him back into one of the other magic four wheelers. The man impacted and then stood, up visibly shaking and bruised from the one hit. Natsu grinned, "You're still up? Good, it's been a while since I cut loose."

He inhaled deeply and cupped his hands around his mouth shouting, "**Roar of the Fire Dragon!**" A huge torrent of flames erupted from his mouth and flew towards the man; it was powerful enough to engulf him, the magic four wheeler, and everything 100 feet behind them.

When the flames died away the man was lying back against the four wheeler, charred and unconscious. The four wheeler wasn't in much better shape, much of the metal having been deformed by the heat of the flames. There was also a large gouge out of the hill behind it, with most of the grass having been burnt and blackened.

Natsu grinned and turned back to Kagura, "That was fun."

She leveraged herself off the ground with her sword and asked him, "What the hell was that? Why didn't you tell me you were a mage?"

He shrugged, "I'm a Fire Dragon Slayer, not a mage."

She groaned, although he couldn't tell if it was from her injuries or his comment, "Natsu, you're Fire Dragon Slayer powers are magic. People who use magic are mages."

It took him a second to get it but he said, "Ooooh. So I'm both?"

She nodded, "Yes, you are both. Now, help me tie these guys up."

They found some rope and tied up the bandits, leaving them there. Natsu asked as they walked towards the town which wasn't that far away now, "Are you sure we can just leave them there?"

Kagura nodded, "We'll stop by the Rune Knight's headquarters and tell them where they are, and then I can collect the reward and go home."

He nodded, "So where is home?"

She smiled, "Mermaid Heel is located in Rose Town. It's about 4 hours away from here by train."

Natsu asked, "What is a train?"

She sighed and dropped her face into one hand, "I can't believe I agreed to do this."

He grinned at her, "Hey. I did just beat that guy up for you."

Kagura gave him a small smile, "Yes you did. Thank you for that."

They came into the town as he said, "No problem. It was pretty fun; it's been a while since I really cut loose like that."

Natsu didn't hear her reply because he was distracted by all the new sights and sounds of the village. He gawked as he followed her around. They went to the Rune Knight office in the town and Kagura dealt with them and got her reward. He then followed her to a restaurant where they sat down at a table and had menus brought to them.

He took one look at it and said, "What the hell does all this mean?"

She gaped at him, "You don't know how to read?"

He shrugged, "There's not much to read in the forest."

Kagura growled, "I'd like to have a few words with Igneel about his parenting."

Natsu grinned, "Nah. Igneel was a great parent. He taught me how to fight."

The girl deadpanned, "That's not all there is to life."

Natsu looked surprised, "There's more to life than fighting. Well that makes sense, it's hard to fight against food."

He was confused when Kagura groaned again and then asked him, "What do you like to eat then. I'll order something for you."

He immediately replied with, "Meat, or fire. Either one of those works."

When the waiter came she ordered for both of them and in a few minutes the food came out. Natsu's plate held a steaming pile of beef and rice which he promptly shoveled into his mouth. Kagura's contained more vegetables than anything and she ate with calm measured bites, taking much more time than Natsu.

When she was done she paid for the meal, a process which Natsu watched in wonderment. She shook her head as they walked out of the restaurant, "I can't believe you don't understand the basics of society."

He shrugged, seemingly embarrassed, "Well I've never been to society. So it's not like I'd understand it anyways."

She smiled and said, "It's alright. Come on, were going back to my hotel to sleep."

Natsu perked up, "I bet there are some pretty comfy tree's around here somewhere to sleep in."

He began looking around when Kagura grabbed his ear and started pulling him along. He shouted, "Hey, what's that for?"

Her only reply was, "People don't sleep in tree's they sleep in houses. But since neither you nor I have a house here, we have to stay at a hotel."

Natsu broke away from her and just shrugged, "Well, these places better be more comfortable than tree's, otherwise I'm going to be mad."

He could hear the girl groan as he followed her, "Yes Natsu, hotels are better to sleep in than tree's are.

They went to a large building near the edge of town and when they entered Kagura dragged him up to the front desk. She said, "I need another room for my friend here."

The guy behind the counter looked and then said, "I'm sorry we don't have any rooms left, you got the last one."

She muttered, "Seriously? Fine."

She dragged him down the hall towards her room while he asked, "What the hell is going on?"

She unlocked the door and flung it open, dragging him into a room that held a bed, a small nightstand, and a couch with a bag on it set against one wall. She let go of his wrist and said, "This is where we'll sleep tonight."

Natsu walked over and poked the bed, finding it extremely soft. He sat down and was amazed at how soft it was. He said, "Wow, this is definitely better than a tree."

Kagura let out a laugh and walked over to her bag grabbing some clothes out of it, "I'm going to take a bath, you can have one after me."

He said, "What's a bath?"

The look the girl gave him was unamused, "I can't believe you don't know what bathing is. It's where you use water and soap to clean yourself."

Natus laughed, "Oh I get it. Generally I'd just jump in a river."

Kagura slapped her forehead with her hand again and groaned, "Whatever. I'm going to take a bath. Don't come in."

She walked into the bathroom and slammed the door; he could hear water running from through it. He lay down on the bed and thought, 'She's pretty nice. I think I'll stick with her since she's so nice. She's also pretty powerful, maybe I can convince her to fight me, that might be fun.'

He lay on the bed thinking along much the same vein while she took her bath. She came out in pajamas with a towel around her head, holding her wet hair away from her clothes. She said, "Alright, it's your turn."

He nodded and walked into the bathroom. Natsu looked at the bathtub for a few moments and then yelled, "Umm. How does this work?"

Kagura stalked into the room and pushed him aside, turning a knob on the tub that caused water to shoot out of the showerhead. She said, "There. When you're done just turn in back the other way. There's a towel in the closet. I'll go ask the hotel manager if they have something for you to sleep in."

She walked out of the room and he muttered to himself as he stripped off his clothes, "What does she mean something to sleep in? My regular clothes are just fine."

He showered, sniffing at the little bars of soap before shrugging and using it to clean himself. He got out and used his magic to quickly dry himself off. He put his clothes back on and walked out to find Kagura holding a set of sleep pants and a shirt. She said, "Go put these on and I'll have the hotel clean your clothes."

He said, "My clothes are just fine thank you very much."

She growled, "Now!"

He took them and said, "Sheesh, you're pushy."

He turned to walk back into the bathroom and she whacked him on the back of the head with her sheathed sword. He walked into the bathroom and muttered, "I'm totally fighting her one of these days."

He changed and walked back out. He handed her his pants and vest but kept the scarf. She raised an eyebrow but he didn't back down, instead wrapping it more securely around his neck. She silently acquiesced and left, coming back a few minutes later. Natsu was lying on the bed when she returned, staring up at the ceiling while trying to fall asleep.

She said, "You have to take the couch Natsu, we can't sleep in the same bed."

Natsu propped himself up on an elbow and looked at her, "Why not? The bed's big enough for two, and it's a lot more comfy than the couch."

She sighed, "Women and men cannot sleep in the same bed together unless they're in a relationship."

Natsu asked, "What's a relationship?"

She just gaped at him for a few moments before sighing, "Never mind, you can sleep in the bed with me, just stay on your side!"

Natsu grinned and said, "Alright, I'm all fired up!"

She sighed again climbed into the bed saying, "Just go to sleep Natsu."

When she turned out the light he did, never having slept on something so comfortable before. Kagura lay awake for a long while, making sure that the dragon slayer didn't try anything indecent. She couldn't keep it up forever though, and she too slowly drifted off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Natsu slowly woke up like he did every morning, although some things were not as he expected. There was a weight on top of him, nothing unusual since sometimes Igneel would accidentally put a claw on top of him in his sleep. Although something was a bit off, because this weight was soft and warm, unlike Igneel's hard claws. There was also something tickling his face, something else unexpected. Whatever he was sleeping on was definitely unexpected. It was like laying on a cloud, instead of grass and dirt or leafy trees.

He decided to open his eyes and when he did he was mildly confused until he remembered the events of yesterday. Somehow in his sleep he had pulled Kagura on top off him. One of her legs was thrown over his lower body and one of her arms the same for his upper body. Her head lay heavily on his chest as she breathed softly in a deep sleep. His first thoughts upon discovering his situation were, 'Hey, this is pretty nice. Almost as good as sleeping on Igneel's back.'

His second thoughts were, 'Crap. This is one of those things that she told me not to do.'

He was interrupted by the girl on top of him shifting and then slowly opening her eyes. She lifted her head and for a moment their eyes met and neither of them acted. The moment ended though when she screamed and rolled off of him. Even more frightening for the inexperienced Dragon Slayer, from next to him on the bed her hands glowed and he suddenly found himself lifted and slammed into the ceiling. To cap off everything he found himself with a sword at his throat.

Natsu decided to break the tension by saying nonchalantly, "Good morning. How did you sleep?"

Kagura answered him in an equally nonchalant fashion although the tip of her sword never wavered from his throat, "I slept very well thank you. Now, please tell me why we were in such a compromising position!"

He could only say, "Well, somehow you must have gotten on top of me while we slept. It was pretty comfy."

He could see her eyebrows twitching, although whether in rage or something else he didn't know, before a blush slowly rose on her face and she lowered her sword. Whatever force was pinning him to the ceiling suddenly disappeared and he fell flailing back onto the bed. It took him a few seconds to disentangle himself from the sheets and when he bounced out of the bed he saw that Kagura had disappeared into the bathroom with her bag and had slammed the door.

Natsu stared for a moment and then shook his head muttering, "This sort of stuff wouldn't happen if Igneel had just stayed."

He looked around for his clothes but they weren't there, so he was stuck waiting for Kagura to get out of the bathroom to find out where they were. He waited impatiently for five minutes before she came out, dressed in the same outfit she'd had yesterday. Before he could speak she bowed formally to him and said, "I must apologize for my behavior this morning. I do not know what could have come over me while I slept to cling to you in such an indecent manner. I must also apologize for attacking you when I was in the wrong."

Natsu shrugged and replied, "Don't worry about it. You were really comfortable. Now, where are my clothes?"

His question was not answered by her sheathed sword smacking him in the head and knocking him down. She shouted at him, "You can't just tell a girl that she's comfortable!"

He stood up rubbing his head and said, "Sheesh, why is there so much I can't say to girls?"

Kagura gave him a stern look, "Because it isn't polite or proper."

Natsu threw up his hands, "Well how am I supposed to know that? You are the first human I can remember! I've spent my whole life living with a dragon. I'm not polite, I'm not proper, I'm just Natsu!"

By the end of his outburst, small flames were swirling around him and were threatening to jump off and engulf the room in fire. Kagura rushed forward and placed her hands on his shoulders, looked him directly in the eyes and said, "Natsu, calm down. It's okay, I'm not angry. You need to get yourself under control!"

It took an effort but he calmed himself down and the flames died down. They stood there and Natsu looked down mildly ashamed at his outburst. He noticed that his sleep clothes were no charred and hanging off of him in tatters and asked plaintively, "Can you please tell me where my clothes are now?"

Kagura looked at him in bemusement for a moment and then giggled, turning away from him. She said as she walked to the door, "Go take another shower, you smell like ash and burnt clothing now. I'll go get your clothes from the hotel staff."

Natsu grumbled but complied, walking into the bathroom and tearing the remains of his sleep clothes off. Luckily, he remembered how to work the shower and climbed in. He quickly scrubbed himself with the soap that was left and turned the shower off. He stepped out and quickly dried himself off with a flare of his magic. He looked around and didn't see his clothes and shrugged, walking towards the door and stepping back out into the bedroom.

Kagura wasn't back yet so he hopped grabbed his scarf and put it on, feeling a little bit better now that his one possession that had been given to him by Igneel was securely wrapped around his neck. He climbed into the bed and pulled the sheets up to his waist. He clasped his hands behind his head and lay back onto the bed to relax for a bit.

He had almost fallen back asleep when Kagura came into the room. He sat up which caused the sheets to fall down slightly, revealing his toned upper body. Kagura stopped like she'd run into a wall staring at him with blood rising into her face. Natsu cocked his head and asked curiously, "What?"

The girl only stammered, "H-h-here are your clothes. G-get dressed and meet me out front."

The next thing he knew his vest was hitting him in the face and he heard the door slam. He stood up and swiftly put his clothes on thinking, 'What the heck was that? Girls are weird… or maybe it's just her.'

He was about to leave the room when he noticed that Kagura had left her bag in the room. He grabbed it before leaving and heading down to the front of the hotel. She wasn't in the lobby so he stepped outside to find her pacing back in forth in front of the hotel. He walked up to her and grinned saying, "You left your bag in the room, but I got it."

She blushed and grabbed it from his outstretched hand saying, "Thank you. Now we have to go or we will miss our train."

Natsu shrugged and said, "Alright, but you never did answer me. What's a train?"

* * *

><p>Natsu found out what a train was, and he thoroughly did not like it. He spent six hours miserably sick in the compartment with Kagura. His first ride on a train he threw up out the window four times, but managed not to throw up on his companion. They finally arrived in Rose Town and he was waiting at the doors for them to open. He spilled out of them when they finally did and lay on the ground trying to catch his breath and reduce his nausea.<p>

Kagura followed him and laughed at him lying there on the ground. She said, "It wasn't that bad Natsu. I don't know how you get so motion sick."

Natsu gasped from his position on the ground, "I'm never getting on one of those again. That was the worst experience of my life."

Kagura smiled and bent down to pat him on the head, "You'll be fine Natsu. I'm sure the motion sickness is just because you aren't used to riding on transportation."

He looked up at her hopefully, "You think so? That would be great. I don't think I could deal with another ride like that."

The girl grabbed his shoulder and hauled him upright, showing a surprising amount of strength. She patted his shoulder and smiled, "I bet that's what it is. Now I've got to go back to the guild. You can come with me if you want, although I'm not sure how much of a welcome you'll get."

He followed her out of the train station and into the street while asking, "What do you mean?"

She replied to him, "Well. Mermaid Heel is an all-woman's guild. Most of the mages that join do so because they can't join other guilds because they're looked down upon just for being girls. A lot of them really don't like men. If you come to the guildhall some of them might even try and fight you."

Natsu grinned at that, "Are they strong?"

Kagura shrugged, "All of them are very good mages."

Natsu pumped a fist into the air, "Well if they want to fight I'll be ready. Just because they're girls doesn't mean that they won't be fun to fight."

Kagura smiled at him, "Are you sure? You dealt with that bandit mage pretty well but I don't want you to get overconfident."

The dragon slayer pounded his fists together and said, "I'm all fired up! Let's go to your guild!"

He got so excited that he took off running down the street and made it twenty yards before realizing that he didn't know where Mermaid Heel actually was. He turned around and ran back to where Kagura stood in front of a large building that he'd passed. He rubbed his head with an embarrassed smile on his face and said, "Ummm… Where is Mermaid Heel exactly?"

She laughed and gestured in front of her, "Right here."

He stared up at the large building in front of him with a mild sense of awe. A two story tall building of bright red brick stood in front of him. He could only see the top because of the brick wall that surrounded it. He followed Kagura through the opening in the wall into a large courtyard. It was filled with trees and as they followed the stone path through them it opened up into a large stone patio. There were benches scattered around it with women sitting on them but it was dominated by a large circular fountain set in the middle. Water came out of two exquisitely sculpted mermaids.

Natsu's only response was, "Whoa…"

Kagura grinned and said, "This is home. It's wonderful isn't it?"

He grinned back at her, "This is the second coolest thing I've ever seen in my life!"

Unfortunately for him, someone who seriously disliked men heard his comment and stormed over. She was a tall busty woman wearing knee length khaki pants and a light green tank top. She had curly brown hair that ended just below her shoulders and bounced around as she angrily stalked over to Natsu and Kagura. Natsu expected to get yelled at but she completely ignored him and opened up on Kagura, "How dare you bring a man here! Don't you know that this is a female only guild! You've only been here for two months so I guess it hasn't sunk in. We don't like men here!"

Natsu felt the need to defend his only friend in the world and held up his hands in a placating gesture, "Whoa, hey now. There's no need to be angry. She's just helping me out a little bit."

Other women were headed towards the angry voices now. This didn't stop the tall women from glaring coldly at Natsu before waving an arm at him and muttering, "**Wind Blast.**"

A blast of wind emanated from her hand and blew him away, throwing him into one of the nearby trees. He could hear the woman still berating Kagura, "This is unacceptable! The master will be back soon and when she hears about this you will be severely punished!"

Kagura yelled back at her, "Master doesn't hate men like you Layna! She created Mermaid Heel to be a haven for women who have been looked down upon by men who think they're better just because we're women. Natsu isn't like that! There was no reason to attack him."

Almost all the women outside had gathered around the two and Natsu could hear mutters from them that supported both sides of the argument. He wasn't going to get into it but the tall woman, who was older than Kagura by at least ten years, slapped her across the face and said, "Don't you dare tell me, who's been here since the beginning, what Mermaid Heel is about."

Natsu remembered what Igneel had said just before he left, _"Find yourself a new family, and then give everything you have to defend it."_

He hopped down from the tree and strode to the gathering. Kagura was still standing with her back towards the gateway out of Mermaid Heel. The woman named Layna stood in front of her with most of the women of the guild standing behind her in a semi-circle. He walked up next to Kagura and placed a hand on her shoulder, saying quietly to Layna, "I don't care how much you attack me, but hurting someone in your own family is unforgiveable. I won't allow you to attack her just because she was nice enough to help me."

Layna looked at him with fury, "Get out of here you stupid man. We don't need you here."

Natsu gave a dangerous smile and let flames begin to come off of him, swirling around him in a pillar. He said, "If you're going to attack me just for being a man, I'm not going to hold back just because you're a woman."

She laughed, along with about half of the women behind her. Kagura muttered urgently, "Natsu, she's the strongest mage in the guild below the master, our ace, Layna Balsan!"

Natsu grinned, "Good. If she's going to go around attacking men just for being men, she's going to need the strength to back it up!"

Kagura looked worried but Layna stepped forward and gestured for Natsu to do the same. He did, and the rest of the women began to back up. Layna said, "Back off Kagura. If your little boyfriend thinks that just because he's a man he can beat me, I'll tear him to shreds."

Suddenly, from behind them a loud high pitched voice shouted, "What on earth is going on here?"

Natsu saw all of the women behind Layna suddenly bow to whoever was behind him, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Kagura turn and give an extremely deep bow. Layna flicked her eyes over his shoulder and gave a slight nod of her head before focusing her eyes back on Natsu. He didn't dare take his eyes off of her, not knowing whether she would attack him with his back turned.

The tall brown haired woman in front of him said haughtily, "Kagura decided to bring a boy back to the guild. I was showing her the error of her ways when he decided that he wanted to have a fight."

Natsu laughed, never taking his eyes off of her, "Showing her the error of her ways? I don't think you need to hurt your family just to teach them a lesson."

He could almost hear the frown on the face of the woman behind him as she said in a commanding tone, "Kagura, what happened?"

The young girl replied, "I met Natsu on my last mission. He was, well, let's just say that he'd have been pretty helpless if I'd left him on his own. I completed the mission and brought him back here. Layna was unhappy with me bringing him here and things got a bit heated."

The voice behind him was coming closer as the woman said, "Well, it sounds like the situation just got a bit out of hand."

The woman walked past Natsu and came to a stop between Layna and the dragon slayer. He was surprised to see someone that commanded so much respect was a very small woman. She wasn't much taller than the 14 year old Kagura, and was a good 6 inches shorter than Natsu, but nonetheless seemed to be an imperious figure. She wore long flowing robes that were a pale pink, almost white color, much lighter than the dragon slayers hair. She had long blonde hair that ran down to the middle of her back in a tight braid. When she looked at Natsu he felt like her piercing green eyes could see inside his soul and understand him.

She gave him a gentle smile and addressed him, "I am Elaine Valeria, Master of Mermaid Heel."

He grinned at her and said, "I'm Natsu Dragneel, the Fire Dragon Slayer."

She looked surprised and said, "Dragon Slayer? That's Lost Magic I haven't heard about in a long time."

Natsu shrugged, "Well you're hearing about it now."

She raised an eyebrow and said, "Yes, I am. Why are you here?"

He screwed up his face in thought as he tried to recount the events of the past day, "Well, I was with Igneel but then he had to go. He dropped me off at a town and Kagura came out to try and fight us because she thought we were going to attack. We didn't, Igneel left, and Kagura was really nice to me. I've been living in a forest with Igneel my whole life so I pretty much had no idea what to do in human society. Kagura bought me dinner, and then let me stay with her at her hotel. Oh my god that bed was amazing, I have to find one of those. Anyways, we woke up and she kind of got mad at me because we ended up cuddling while we were sleeping. Once we got that out of the way she took me on that damned deathtrap of a train and then we came here. Then the lady over there decided to get up in Kagura's face about bringing me here and slapped her. Nobody hurts my friends, so I'm going to fight her and teach her a lesson."

The Master took his entire explanation in stride and when he was done turned to Kagura and raised an eyebrow, "Cuddling?"

The girl got an extremely nervous look on her face and started waving her hands, "No, well yes, but it's not what you think! Natsu has no idea how to behave around girls and got in the bed with me at the hotel. All we did was sleep I swear!"

Kagura then turned to Natsu and whacked him with her sword sheath, "Stop insinuating indecent things!"

He rubbed his head and almost whined, "I don't even know what an indecent thing is! And what does insinuating mean?"

The entire guild of women looked at him with dumbfounded looks. Most of them broke out in mutters about him. Kagura just slapped her forehead with the palm of her hand and gritted her teeth. Layna started laughing at him. Master Elaine looked bemused and then said to him, "What do you intend to do now?"

He shrugged, "Well, Kagura explained what Mage Guilds are, and apparently because I'm a Dragon Slayer I'm also a mage, so I figured I'd join one of those. Kagura is my only friend so I figured I'd join her guild."

At this all the women except the Master and Kagura began laughing at him. Kagura frowned and then looked sad, sighing heavily. The Master had a thoughtful expression on her face as she said, "You do know this is a women's only guild right?"

Natsu sighed, "Yeah, I know. That was the best plan I had thought, so I figured I'd stick to it until it didn't work and then I'd make up something else. Well since you won't have me I guess I'll just have to go find another guild."

He turned around and started to walk away, head down and shoulders slumped, sad that he couldn't join his only friend's guild. He waved at Kagura as he walked past her and said quietly, "Thanks a lot for everything Kagura. I'll definitely try and remember that girls don't like to cuddle."

She had a torn look on her face as he walked past her and headed for the open gate. Before he'd gone far he heard Kagura yelling after him, "Natsu, hold on."

He stopped and turned back to the group. Kagura walked up to the Master and said, "If Natsu can't join then I'm going to go with him. He's not the kind of man that this guild is meant to shelter us from. He doesn't look down on us just because we're women, and he's definitely not a pervert like almost all boys. I think you should make an exception for him."

Natsu could see the Master pondering her words, and hope rose up in his heart. Master Elaine looked troubled, before she finally said, "Kagura, this is not something I can just do lightly. At our heart we are an all-female guild. I started this guild so that it could be a haven for female mages that were shunned other places for their gender. If we let a man in, no matter how good a person, we risk losing out identity, what has made us. I alone, cannot make this decision; the guild will have to decide."

She looked over at the cluster of women and said, "Anyone that thinks we should let this young man in raise their hands."

Kagura's hand shot up, and slowly a few more began to rise. Then one woman, a small petite blonde wearing a green dress said loudly, "I like what he said. He stood up to Layna not because she's a woman, but because she was hurting someone in the Mermaid Heel family, and he's not even in it! I think we should let him in."

Her hand rose into the air, and more hands began to rise, but a large number of them stayed down. The Master took a count and then said, "Everyone who's against him joining raise your hands."

Layna raised her hand with a mocking smile directed at Natsu, and many hands also rose from the group behind her. The Master counted again and then grimaced, giving a profound sigh. She said loudly, "It seems we have a tie."

Angry muttering broke out between both groups as they began arguing amongst themselves. Kagura and Layna were glaring at each other while the Master stared at Natsu, trying to figure him out. Natsu stood there, taking it all in, instinctively knowing that he shouldn't try to do anything to sway the outcome. Layna suddenly said, "Since this punk wants to fight, I say we give him one. I'll fight him, and if I win he goes, and Kagura stays. If he wins, he can join the guild."

Natsu glanced at Kagura and she had a worried look on her face. Master Elaine turned to Natsu and said, "This seems like a good enough way to break the tie. Are these terms agreeable to you Natsu."

The Dragon slayer grinned, "I'm all fired up!"

Layna smiled mockingly at him and said, "This won't even be a challenge."

Natsu shrugged, "If that's what you think, come at me then."

Master Elaine stepped between them and held out her hands, "Whoa, stop right there. I know how destructive Layna can be and I will not have the fight take place in our courtyard! We're moving to the training area outside of town."

In short order the entire guild had left the town and assembled onto a large flat grassy area a short ways out of the town. They were off to the side with Kagura and Master Elaine slightly in front of them. Natsu and Layne stood facing each other about fifty feet away from the group. Natsu looked excited, while Layna had an almost permanent scowl on her face. The Master stepped forward and said simply, "Are you both ready?"

When she got quick nods from both of them she said, "Begin."

Natsu was surprised when Layna pointed both hands at him, palms facing out and shouted, "**Wind Blast!**"

A strong blast of wind erupted from her palms just like before and shot towards him. It hit him like a train and blew him backwards. It let up and it felt like the wind had practically cut him, although he couldn't see any cuts on his skin. He looked bemused and muttered, "Not bad. Time to have some fun."

He looked up at the smug face of Layna and grinned. He made two fists and slammed them together, igniting them on fire while shouting, "Let's fight! I'm all fired up!"

The woman used the same move, trying to blast him backwards again. Natsu could see the blast of wind coming at him and moved straight towards it. He punched into it shouting, "**Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon!**" He completely dissipated the oncoming blast of wind and streaked towards his opponent. He grinned at the shocked look on her face as his flaming fist drove into her stomach and she shot backwards.

He stood and waited for her to get back up and she looked absolutely livid. "You freaking punk! I'm about to get serious now!"

She crossed her arms in front of her and shouted, "**Razor Blade Wind!**"

Natsu watched as wind began to flow faster and faster around her. He could see it actually solidify into dozens of small sharp blades. She smiled maliciously at him before making a short gesture of her hand and shooting the blades of wind at him. Natsu laughed and then shouted, "**Roar of the Fire Dragon!**"

He let loose a torrent of flames that engulfed the blades of wind and snuffed them out completely and then flowing on to impact on Layna. She disappeared in the swirling flames that erupted from Natsu's mouth and when he cut off the stream and the flames dissipated she stood there, charred and scuffed but still very much up.

Natsu grinned at her, "You're pretty tough, I'll give you that much."

The woman looked almost crazed as she shouted, "I don't need anything from you! Disappear into dust you stupid man!"

She raised her hands above her head and began to make swirling motions with her arms. Natsu was surprised when he saw the wind around the entire area began to solidify. It swirled around the two of them until the two of them were the only ones in sight, cut off from the world by a solid swirling wall of wind. He asked her, "What did I ever do to you?"

She said quietly, "It's not what you did, but what men have done. All men are the same, they're despicable deep down inside, and you're no different. Now I'm going to destroy you, and show you that just because you're a man, you don't have the right to walk around with such an air of arrogance as if you owned the world."

She pointed her arms at him and shouted, "**Crushing Air Prison!**"

The wall of wind that swirled around them suddenly stopped, and then contracted. It completely passed Layna and started to bear down on Natsu with a crushing weight. He couldn't see anything through the solid wall of wind that surrounded him. It contracted around him until it felt like the air was crushing him and almost merging with his skin. He thought, 'Yep she's pretty good. But this is starting to get boring.'

He dug deep into himself, feeling his inner flames and grinning as he pulled them to the surface. He let them cover his skin, pushing the suffocating air away from him. He let out a roar, letting his primal need for battle take over. A pillar of flame surged around him, 100 feet high. He felt his canines enlarge, and the skin on his face became as hard as scales. A moment later the flames dispersed, along with the suffocating coffin of air around him.

In front of him stood Layna, gaping at the suddenly freed Dragon Slayer and off to the side stood the women of Mermaid Heel. Natsu grinned and shouted, "There's one thing you're forgetting Layna. I'm not a man. I'm a Dragon!"

He swiped his arms in a circular motion in front of him and shouted, "**Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Crimson Lotus Exploding Flame Blade!**"

Torrents of flame exploded from his arms and engulfed the woman in front of him. Flame barraged her and caused her body to flex and jerk before depositing her on the ground in a burnt and unconscious heap. Natsu roared, and let out jets of flame from his mouth in victory.

Kagura ran up to him and shouted, "That was amazing! How did you do that?"

Natsu looked at Kagura and grinned, feeling his face and teeth go back to normal as he shouted, "That was the most fun I've had in a long time!"

She skidded to a stop next to him and said, "Seriously though, I've never seen anybody beat Layna!"

Natsu shrugged, "Well, her type of magic is really weak to mine. My flames are so hot that it burns out all the wind that she uses to attack me."

Kagura asked him, "What happened to your face right before you used that last attack?"

He grinned and said cryptically, "Like I said, I'm a dragon."

Kagura was about to press him when the Master walked up and said, "Well done Natsu that was an excellent match. It seems we have our answer, you can join our guild."

Natsu pumped a fist in the air and yelled, "Alright! I'm all fired up!"

Both of the women smiled at him and he said, "So Kagura, how big is your bed? Because if it isn't as big as the one in the hotel I don't know how we both won't end up cuddling on it, and I know you don't like to cuddle."

Both of them lost their smiles and they were replaced with two different expressions. The Master's expression looked supremely amused. Kagura's expression was wrathful. She smacked him on the head with a sword and shouted at him, "You idiot! You have to get your own bed!"


	3. Chapter 3

The next day Natsu was looking appraisingly at the apartment he was in and then said, "I don't like it."

Kagura groaned from next to him, "This is the third one today! You have to pick one eventually. You are not staying with me again!"

Natsu grumbled as they left the apartment and walked back out to the street, "I still don't see why not."

She took her sheathed sword and smacked him with it, "Because it's improper, like I have already told you."

The pink haired boy rubbed his arm where she'd smacked him and whined, "Come on Kagura, please? It's not like I have any of these jewel things to get an apartment anyways."

Kagura looked thoughtful as they walked along, "Hmm, that is a good point. We must go on a job then, to get you some money."

Natsu asked, "Is that what you were doing when I met you?"

The girl nodded, "The job was to take out those bandits that you helped me defeat."

Natsu grinned, "So if we take jobs, then we get to fight people?"

Kagura shook her head, "Not necessarily. Sometimes clients want mages to find something that's difficult to find, or to help research something."

Natsu said, "Those sound boring. Let's find a job where we get to fight something strong!"

Kagura laughed at him as they walked into the Mermaid Heel guild. They walked through the small anteroom and into the much larger common room. Large circular tables were scattered about the room with Mermaid Heel mages sitting around them chatting. A large chandelier hung from the center of the ceiling, sending light to every corner of the room. The walls were a pleasant off white and opposite the entrance was a small bar doing brisk business.

When the two of them entered all eyes were trained on them and Natsu grinned and waved, "Hey everyone!"

Half of the women in the guild immediately turned their backs, some going so far as to turn their chairs around to face away from him. Some just went back to talking as if nothing had happened. A few waved back at him and he got some small smiles. One woman stood up and walked over to Natsu and Kagura. It was the same woman who'd spoken up for Natsu the day before while the guild was voting. He got a better look at her now as she strode towards him and Kagura.

She was quite small, only a little bigger than the Master although she seemed to be around Natsu's age, and wore a knee length green dress. She had shoulder length blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail. Her blue eyes seemed to sparkle with mischief and her lips seemed to be on the verge of breaking out in a grin as she reached the two and said, "Don't mind them. They're just mad because they didn't get their way."

She put out a hand to shake and said, "I'm Riley."

Natsu stared at her hand for a moment and then used it to pull the girl in for a bone crushing hug. When he let her go he grinned, "I'm Natsu."

The girl was trying to get her breath back when Kagura hit Natsu on the head with her sheathed sword, "Didn't I tell you not to randomly hug people! You were supposed to shake her hand."

He rubbed his head and said, "Why would you want to shake a hand?"

Both of the girls gave him bemused looks as Riley said, "It's… It's just a thing people do when they meet each other."

Natsu grumbled, "Jeez, humans are weird."

The blonde girl raised an eyebrow and said, "You know… you're a human too."

Natsu waved it off nonchalantly, "Nah, I'm more of a dragon. Well… I'm a dragon in the body of a human."

Riley looked him over curiously, "I heard you say that to Layna when you guys fought. Why would you say that?"

He grinned, "Well, I've lived with Igneel, who's a dragon, for the past twelve years."

She gaped at him and turned to Kagura with wide eyes, "Is he serious?"

The dark haired girl nodded, "If I hadn't seen the dragon with my own eyes I wouldn't believe it either."

Riley turned back to Natsu, "So Igneel was a fire dragon, and taught you fire magic?"

He nodded, "Yep, I'm the Fire Dragon Slayer. What kind of magic do you use?"

The girl held out a hand and sparks began to fly between her fingers and over her palm, "I use lightning magic. I can show you if you want."

The dragon slayer eagerly nodded, not noticing Kagura shaking her head frantically. Riley grinned and pointed a finger at Natsu, zapping him with a small bolt of lightning. It made him jump and then rub his arm furiously where it had struck him, "Ouch that was pretty painful. I bet you'd be fun to fight. Want to?"

Riley laughed easily and said, "No thanks. I saw how you destroyed Layna and don't exactly feel like having the same thing done to me."

Natsu shrugged, "If she hadn't underestimated me I might have had a harder time. She was way too overconfident."

The blonde laughed again, "Either way, she's still stuck in the infirmary wrapped in bandages so I think I'll pass on the fight."

Natsu smiled at her, "Well anytime you change your mind, I'm definitely up for a fight."

Kagura jumped in then, "Come on Natsu, we need to pick out a job so that you can make some money."

He pumped his fist in the air and said, "Right! Money means a house, and a house means a bed!"

Riley gave Kagura a bemused look, "What's with his obsession with beds?"

She only shrugged, "He's never had a bed and he slept in one for the first time two days ago, apparently they're the best thing in the world now."

Kagura turned to Natsu and said, "Go pick a job, the boards over there; I need to go talk to the Master in her office for a moment."

She walked off and Riley followed her. Natsu looked over to where Kagura had pointed and walked to a large pegboard with numerous pieces of paper stuck to it. He examined a few of them and figured out rather quickly that he wasn't going to be able to understand a single word. He grumbled under his breath, "I can't believe she made me do this when she knows I can't read."

He looked over all of them and finally spotted one with a picture of a dragon and some unintelligible words. He grabbed it and then turned around to look for Kagura. She wasn't in the large room and he didn't feel like waiting for her to come back. Natsu walked over to the table nearest to him and politely asked one of the women sitting there, "Where is the Masters office?"

The women glanced at him and then pointed a finger at him. A jet of water shot out of the tip of her finger and blasted Natsu in the face. He stood there blinking his eyes as water dripped off of him and his wet hair stuck to his forehead. The woman said, "Go away."

A kindly looking older woman gave her a dirty look before saying to Natsu, "It's down that hall, second door on the right."

He nodded to the woman in thanks and then let out a burst of heat to dry himself and his clothes. It had the added effect of causing the woman to topple out of her chair in surprise and spill tea all over herself. Natsu walked down the hall the woman had pointed too and could hear the laughter and angry murmurs that came from behind him.

The dragon slayer found the second door on the right and walked in to find Kagura and Riley talking to the Master who was sitting behind a desk. The two younger women turned when Natsu walked in and Kagura asked, "Did you pick a job."

Natsu grinned and gave it to her saying, "It looks awesome! It has a dragon on the front."

She quickly read it over and then said dryly, "This is a job researching dragons. The client wants mages to come sort his collection of books and find the ones dealing with dragons. Then he wants you to read them, pull out the pertinent information, and prepare a report for him."

Natsu blanched and snatched it back, "No way. That sounds way too boring. They need to put more accurate pictures on these things."

Kagura gasped, "I'm so sorry Natsu! I forgot you couldn't read!"

The Master raised an eyebrow and said, "Really?"

Natsu nodded with a resigned look on his face, "I didn't need to read when I lived in the woods. Igneel never taught me to."

Riley tried to suppress chuckles as the Master said slowly, "Well, that's something you'll need to learn if you're going to live in human society."

The dragon slayer scuffed his feet on the ground and muttered, "I should have just stayed in the forest when Igneel left."

Sensing the dragon slayers mood Kagura said, "But if you'd stayed in the forest think about all the fun fights you'd have missed out on."

He thought about it for a moment and then grinned, "You're right. Now, go pick a job where I get to have more fun fights!"

All three of the women laughed and Kagura replied, "Alright Natsu. Get your guild mark from the Master and I'll be right back."

She left and Natsu asked, "Guild mark?"

Riley turned around and lowered the right strap of her dress until he could see the Mermaid Heel symbol on the back of her shoulder, "This mark denotes that you're a mage in our guild. Wear it with pride because you're probably the only man that will ever receive it."

The Master smiled warmly at him and pulled out a stamp from her desk before coming around to stand in front of him, "Where do you want it?"

He thought for a moment and then turned slightly, presenting his right arm, "Right here."

She pressed it to his arm and he felt a warm sensation as the magic within it imprinted the mark on his skin. After a moment she pulled it away and he had to twist his head a little to see, but he saw the Mermaid Heel mark standing out in bright pink on his arm. Riley couldn't help but laugh, "Don't you think pink is just a bit non masculine?"

He slowly brought up a hand to point at his pink hair, "Well my hair is pink so… no. Second, I keep saying I'm a dragon, not a man, so I don't need to worry about things like that."

Riley gave him a dumbfounded look but the Master sighed, "Natsu, you're a man like it or not. Your joining has had very real implications and ramifications for our guild that we haven't even begun to figure out. Now more men will try to show up, men with much less character than you, and we will have to turn them away which will cause large amounts of trouble because we made an exception just for you. We have, perhaps, lost our identity because of the fact that you joined our guild and may have to carve out a new one."

Natsu looked at her for a moment and said, "Alright. Slower, and with less big words please."

She sighed again, "You're a man. Deal with it. We're glad to have you in the guild."

The dragon slayer grinned, "Well, I'm glad to be in the guild, but I'm still not sure about this being a man thing."

Kagura walked in the door and said, "Are we still on this? Natsu, you and I are going to have to have a talk."

Natsu replied, "We're talking now aren't we?"

The girl smacked him with her sheathed sword and said, "It's a figure of speech, it means we're going to talk about a specific subject later. Here, I've got a job request that might appeal to you. We're going to escort a convoy from a bank here in Rose town to a town a few days away. There's a very high chance it will be attacked because it's carrying gold and rare gems. The reward is enough for you to buy a nice house and an even nicer bed, so come on."

Riley dashed forward and snatched the request from Kagura, "Hey, I've had my eye on that request, mind if I tag along?"

She hesitated, "Well, this is mostly a job so that Natsu can get enough to buy a place to live, if we split the reward three ways I'm not sure it'll be enough."

Natsu interjected and slung an arm around Kagura's shoulder, "Don't worry about it. If it's not enough I can always stay with Kagura until I do have enough."

A moment later he found himself glued to the ceiling by Kagura's gravity magic and she was saying, "What have I told you about getting to familiar with people!"

He groaned from the weight of gravity pressing up on him and said, "Don't do it."

The force suddenly let him go and he fell to the floor. He stood up and rubbed his head while Kagura said, "Good. Now, let's go. Riley you can come if you want to."

The dark haired girl strode out followed closely by Riley and Natsu muttered to the Master, "I think I'm more scared of her than I am of Layna."

The Master let out a laugh, "Don't tell anyone this, but I think one day Kagura is going to surpass Layna. She has a lot of untapped potential. Now go on, you'd better catch up or Kagura might unleash that sword of hers on you."

At this the dragon slayer jumped and ran out to catch up with the two girls leaving the Master behind. The small woman chuckled and then went to sit back behind her desk. She picked up a stack of papers and looked over them muttering, "I think things are about to get a lot more lively around here."

A form caught her eye and she picked it out of a pile and read it, "An invitation to join a regional guild meeting, from Makarov himself? My, my, it seems we are moving up in the world."

* * *

><p>Natsu caught up with the two girls just as they exited the Mermaid Heel building. Kagura was saying to Riley, "We'll probably need to pack for about a week; we'll meet at the bank in two hours to start the job."<p>

The blond woman nodded and headed off to her home to start packing. Kagura looked at Natsu and said, "We're going to have to get you some more clothes, because there is no way you're staying in those for an entire week."

He looked down at his clothes and said, "There's nothing wrong with them. I'll just go jump in a stream and that should clean them just fine."

Kagura sighed, "No. I'll buy you a few new sets of clothes and you can have my spare backpack."

The dragon slayer pouted but relented, knowing that he probably wouldn't win the argument. He followed her back to her house where she packed a few things into a backpack and threw him one. She then dragged him to a clothing store where she quickly picked out a few sets of clothes that pretty closely matched his own. He didn't understand all the weird looks he was getting in the store though so he asked Kagura, "Is it my hair? Everyone is looking at me funny."

The girl grimaced, "It's because you're a guy with a Mermaid Heel mark. You're unique and it's bound to draw some attention."

When she tried to buy him a new scarf he said, "No, I don't need a new scarf, this one is fine."

She questioned, "Why? It seems pretty old and worn."

He said quietly, "It's the only physical thing Igneel ever gave me, so I'm keeping it no matter what."

Natsu could see the chagrin rising in the girl so he said, "Come on let's go! I want to fight somebody strong!"

Kagura smiled at him and agreed. They began heading towards the bank and Natsu was drawing more and more stares and whispers on the streets. He could hear all of them with his enhanced senses. Most of them he didn't understand which was probably a good thing. He still didn't understand it when two old men sitting at a café on their route shouted out to him, "They're letting men into Mermaid Heel now? How much are you getting there youngster?"

He crinkled his nose trying to think and then leaned down to a heavily blushing Kagura, "What do those guys mean?"

She shook her head and squeaked out, "I'm not telling you. But you're not getting any of it."

He shrugged and kept following her to the bank where they only had to wait a few minutes for Riley to arrive. The first thing he said was, "Some old guys asked if I was getting any in Mermaid Heel and Kagura won't tell me what that means. Will you?"

Riley's eyebrows shot up in surprise and she slowly said, "If you have to ask, then you don't need to know."

Natsu shrugged and then grinned, "Alright! So… what now?"

Kagura replied, "We have to go meet the client and then we'll head out with the convoy."

Natsu nodded and shouted, "Alright, I'm all fired up!"

Riley laughed, "I think you're a bit too fired up."

When she said that he noticed small jets of flame shooting out of his mouth and hands and he quickly brought his excitement under control, "Heh, sorry about that. Let's just go."

He followed the two girls into the bank and they met the client. The banker was a fat old man in a suit and Natsu honestly didn't pay attention to anything that was going on. After a few minutes they were done talking and so the dragon slayer followed all three of them out a small side door where he saw five large wagons. The banker said, "Four of these contain the cargo that we're transporting. The fifth is for you three. They all have drivers so your only task will be to protect the cargo if it's attacked."

Kagura nodded, "Of course sir, you can count on us."

The banker looked at his watch and cursed, "Damn, they were supposed to leave twenty minutes ago. You had better get going."

Kagura and Riley both nodded and immediately headed to the wagon at the end of the line, Natsu followed but with some trepidation. Both of the girls climbed in but Natsu stood just outside. He could hear the wagons at the front of the line start rolling away and Riley said to him, "Come on, get in Natsu."

He said, "I don't know. Last time I was on something like this it was not fun at all."

Kagura chuckled, "Come on, I told you that was probably a one-time only thing."

He grumbled, "Alright, I'm coming."

The dragon slayer cautiously climbed in and sat next to Kagura before saying, "Alright. This isn't so bad."

The wagon lurched and began moving and Natsu immediately regretted his previous statement. His stomach began roiling and his face turned a sickly green color. He slowly keeled over and said, "You were wrong Kagura. I really don't like transportation."

Riley scooted over to him and glanced over his sickened form before saying to Kagura, "What exactly is he talking about? He looks terrible."

The dark haired girl sighed, "The same thing happened to him when we took the train back to Rose Town after I met him. He got extremely motion sick while we were riding the train. I figured that it was a one-time thing since he'd never been on something like transportation before. I guess I was wrong."

Riley chuckled, "Well, I guess we found his weakness."

Natsu groaned, "Next time I'm picking the job, one that doesn't involve transportation. Now I'm going to take a nap."

He tried to get comfy and finally found a spot that didn't make his stomach quite feel so terrible. In a few moments he fell asleep.

* * *

><p>Hours later the dragon slayer groaned when the wagon hit a bump. Riley said quietly, "Did he wake up?"<p>

There was a rustle of movement as Kagura checked him, "No, but he's been groaning in his sleep for a while. Poor guy, I feel sorry for him."

The blonde chuckled, "You can say that again. It's been pretty quiet though, I doubt we'll have much trouble."

It was Kagura's turn to chuckle, "Don't say that, you'll probably jinx us."

Riley replied, "It might cheer Natsu up if I did. He really wants to have a fight."

Kagura sighed, "He's so childish. The only things I've seen him get excited about are fighting and food, and having a bed."

Riley shrugged, "There's nothing wrong with that. Hell, what do you think he did out there in the woods with a dragon for twelve years? I bet there was nothing to do but train and eat."

This drew another sigh from Kagura, "I understand that. He's going to be living as a human now though; he's going to have to learn how to act in a human society. He can't even read!"

Riley chuckled, "He's been out of the forest for what, two or three days now? You have to give him some time to adjust. Besides, you're going to teach him to read aren't you?"

It was Kagura's turn to shrug, "If he wants me to. I think I'm pretty much stuck teaching him everything about society. He's a nice guy, just supremely ignorant."

Riley suddenly shifted topic, "So is what Layna said true? Is he your little boyfriend?"

Kagura laughed, "Not at all. I'm just being nice. I'm much too young for any of that, and I highly doubt he understands what a boyfriend is anyways. The first night I was with him I tried to explain that only couples in relationships slept together in the same bed and he asked what a relationship was. No, he is definitely not my boyfriend."

Riley glanced slyly over at him, "He's pretty cute, maybe I'll take a pass at him."

Kagura groaned, "Didn't you hear him going on about not being a man but a dragon? If you try something like that it will probably confuse him."

Riley chuckled again, "You're probably right. But look at him; he is definitely a good looking guy."

Kagura said dryly, "If you wanted good looking guys around all the time you shouldn't have joined an all-women's guild."

The blonde said softly, "You know why I joined the guild Kagura. Layna is right about some things; deep down all men are pretty much the same; despicable. They only want one thing from you and they'll do anything to get it. I've had less bad experiences with men than her, so I don't hate them; I just find them extremely distasteful."

The dark haired girl replied in the same soft tone, "Then why are you being so nice to Natsu. It was probably your little speech that convinced the guild to even tie in the voting to let him in."

This drew a chuckle from the lightning mage, "Kagura, I meant what I said. Layna went too far when you brought him back. Plus, he wanted to join not because we were a guild full of women, but because his one friend in the world was there. I don't think he even understands all of the implications of a man joining an all-women's guild. I think I can be nice to this one man."

Kagura smiled, "Well at least someone other than me and the Master can be nice to him. People voted for him to be let in, but I think a lot of it was a reaction to what you said and because of Layna's craziness."

It was dark now and Riley stuck her head out the back of the wagon to check the sky before saying, "We're probably going to stop and make camp soon."

Her prediction was accurate when a few minutes later the wagons found a small clearing on the side of the path and all parked there. The horses pulling them were fed and picketed by the drivers who all quickly settled down to sleep in their own wagons. As soon as the Mermaid Heel mages wagon stopped Natsu opened his eyes and said weakly, "Are we there yet?"

Kagura smiled at him, "We're making camp for the night."

Natsu hopped up and dove out of the back of the wagon, landing on his stomach on the ground and saying, "I'm so glad to be back on real ground, I'm never leaving you again."

Riley climbed out of the back of the wagon and gracefully dropped down next to Natsu, "Well, until tomorrow when we have to keep riding."

Natsu rolled over and popped up to his feet, "Oh no way, I'm never getting back in one of those things again."

Kagura had hopped down by this point and she said, "Oh yes you are. Now come on, let's find a place to sleep, and we'll need to figure out who's going to take watch during the night."

The moon gave them a good bit of light to see by and the dragon slayer followed the two girls to a sheltered spot between two large trees. Both of them pulled sleeping bags out and lay them on relatively flat spots. Kagura then looked at Natsu standing there watching and said, "Damn, I forgot that you didn't have one. You should take mine and I'll just sleep in the grass."

Natsu shook his head and said, "I've been sleeping for the past few hours so I'm pretty awake. You said we need to keep watch, well I'm definitely the best for that."

Riley glanced at him curiously from where she was now sitting on her bag, "Why do you say that?"

He grinned and tapped his nose, "I'm a dragon slayer. I may not have the senses of a dragon but my nose and my ears are much better than normal humans."

The blonde continued, "How much better do you think they are?"

Natsu shrugged, "Can you identify people by smell?"

Both of the women looked shocked. Kagura said, "Of course not. Are you saying that you can?"

The dragon slayer grinned, "Yeah. Every person I've met so far has a distinct scent, and even when they're covered up by sweat or dirt I can smell that scent."

Riley asked him, "That still doesn't explain why you're the best at taking watch."

He said, "I'll smell them coming and I'll hear them coming. I could hear some of the women whispering about me from across the hall today. One of them said some mean words about me and another said she'd like to play my abs like a piano, whatever that's supposed to mean."

Both girls glanced at each other and then giggled in unison before Riley said, "If you have to ask Natsu, then you don't need to know."

The dragon slayer grumbled, "There seems to be a lot of that going around."

The blonde replied kindly, "There are just some things you pick up once you've been around people long enough. I'm sure after a while you'll get it."

Natsu looked at her hopefully, "Really?"

She nodded but Kagura cut in, "Don't go teaching him things like that, before we know it he'll turn into a pervert and turn out like Layna thinks he will."

Natsu scratched his head and asked, "What's a pervert?"

Riley burst out laughing and it echoed throughout the woods, "I don't think we have to worry about that anytime soon. Let's just get some sleep and let Natsu keep watch tonight."

Both of the women crawled into their sleeping bags and got comfortable while Natsu leaned up against a tree next to them. Kagura said softly, "Goodnight Natsu."

He looked down at her and grinned saying in the same tone, "'Night Kagura. 'Night Riley. I'll be around if you need me."

He looked up and then suddenly jumped up into the trees and disappeared from the girls' sight. They both closed their eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep, much in the way Natsu had done earlier in the day, just without the crippling motion sickness.

* * *

><p>Sometime in the middle of the night both girls awoke with a start at the sound of a huge explosion. They both shot out of their sleeping bags and looked around just in time to see the fading glow of a giant fireball a hundred yards away. Kagura and Riley looked at each other and said, "Natsu."<p>

The girls were about to go charging out to find him when dark shapes began to detach from the darkness and take the form of men surrounding them. The girls got back to back and Kagura muttered, "Take these guys out now, worry about Natsu later."

Riley replied tersely, "Agreed."

Kagura drew her sword and lightning began to flicker around Riley. A moment later they both let out a shout and charged at the enemy surrounding them.


	4. Chapter 4

Natsu stood in the large clearing he'd accidentally created, surrounded by the burnt and unconscious bodies of the bandits that he had defeated. He looked around at the downed trees and singed plants and muttered, "Oops."

The dragon slayer then glanced back in the direction of camp and sniffed the air, stiffening when he caught the scents of other's that weren't Kagura, Riley, or the drivers of the wagons. He began to sprint back towards the camp and cursed, "I can't believe I let them draw me away like that. I should have known it was a trap to begin with."

He was fifty yards from the camp now and as he dodged between trees he could see small explosions fire and lightning through the forest. A few moments later he emerged from the trees to see Riley fighting with four large men, and another three lying on the ground defeated. He watched as she sent a stroke of lightning flying from her fingers to shock one of the bandits and put him down, but at the same moment one of them murmured, "**Fire Sword**" and a flaming sword appeared in his hand that he slashed across her back.

She screamed as the flames licked at her and dove forward trying to evade more strikes from the man. Natsu charged in silently and quickly took out the two other bandits before the enemy mage even noticed. When he heard their exclamations of pain he turned and saw Natsu standing over his defeated comrades. The dragon slayer looked over his shoulder to see Riley clutching at her back, but she gave him a brave smile.

He looked back at the bandit mage who still held the fiery sword in his hand and said, "I'm your opponent, fight me now."

The large man laughed cruelly and then said quietly, "**Flame Halberd.**"

The sword of flame in his hand writhed and morphed until it took on the shape of a halberd. The man charged and swung it overhand at the Dragon Slayer. Natsu grinned as the flaming halberd impacted him and didn't do any damage at all. The bandit looked shocked and started to say, "Wha…?"

Before he could get a word out Natsu had planted a fist into his face and driven him back ten feet to crash into a tree. He growled, "Nobody hurts my friends."

He removed his fist from the unconscious man's face and turned to Riley, "Are you alright?"

She grimaced and said, "Nothing I can't handle, that sword didn't cut, but it burned."

He walked up to her and motioned for her to turn around saying, "Let me see."

She turned around and as she did so Natsu set his hand on fire to give him more light in the darkness. He saw that the back of her dress had been cut from the strike like a normal sword, but the edges were burnt and frayed. He bent closer and used one hand to peel back part of the dress to see a long narrow burn, angry red and blistering, from the middle of her back all the way up to the top of her shoulder, ending just inside the strap of her dress. He said, "Yeah that's pretty bad, but I've had worse. Give me a second and I'll fix you right up."

She tried to turn around and started to say, "What do you mea…" when he licked her, one long quick lick from the bottom of the burn following it to the very top. She squealed and turned, slapping him with a lightning charged hand that sent him spinning away. Natsu landed on the ground and tried to move but found that his legs weren't working. He shouted, "What the hell was that for?"

There was lightning crackling around one of Riley's hands as she shouted back, "You licked me you pervert!"

Natsu groaned, "I don't even know what a pervert is! And I licked you to fix your burn! It doesn't hurt anymore right?"

He watched as the lightning slowly died down and the girl said, "No… it doesn't. What did you do?"

The dragon slayer explained, "When I trained with Igneel I'd get burns all the time. Igneel would just lick the burn and it would go away pretty fast. So I figured out one day that I could do the same thing."

Natsu watched as the girls face turned bright red and she just said, "Oh… well… warn me next time."

He started to get feeling back in his legs and so he stood up, rubbing his face and saying, "Why? I'm just trying to be nice."

The girl was still red as she said, "You don't just lick people Natsu…"

He sighed, "Just more things to remember not to do. Let's just forget about it."

Riley could see that her outburst had hurt the Dragon Slayers feelings so she said, "I'm sorry I hit you, I just wish you'd explained what you were doing before you licked me. Thank you for fixing my back though, it feels much better now."

A grin lit up Natsu's face as he said, "I'm glad I could help. Now, we need to find Kagura, you were with her weren't you?"

Riley nodded and said, "I was, but we got separated during the fighting. What happened anyway? I thought you were keeping watch."

Natsu grimaced, "I was. I heard and smelled some people a ways off and went to check it out. They were bandits so I attacked them. Then I realized that there were people attacking over here as well."

Riley gasped, "The wagons, we need to check them."

They both raced over to where the wagons were, only fifty feet away through the forest, to find that three of them were gone along with the horses to pull them, and all of the drivers were unconscious on the ground. Riley cursed, "Damn! How did they get them so fast?"

Natsu looked around and scented the air trying to find Kagura's scent but failing, "I don't know, but I'm getting worried, I can't smell Kagura."

Riley looked at him, "I'm sure she just moved a bit far away during the fighting, she's around here somewhere."

Natsu shook his head, "If she's within a hundred feet of me I should be able to smell her."

Riley was shocked, "That powerful?"

He nodded, "Come on, we need to go find her."

The blonde said, "But what about the last wagon?"

Natsu looked at her and Riley flinched at the expression on his face, "If anything happens to Kagura there won't be anyone left to steal it, I'll burn them to ash."

He turned away before she could say anything and went over to where the girls had been sleeping. Riley followed him but he was too intent on trying to smell out Kagura. He reached her sleeping bag and bent low, taking a deep whiff to cement the smell of her in his mind.

Riley took this all in and came to the realization that Natsu was acting more like an animal than a human. She said cautiously, "Don't you think you're going a little overboard Natsu?"

He looked at her and she could see in the moonlight that his pupils had turned into catlike slits, or she supposed, dragon like. He sniffed the air deeply and said, "This way."

He took off into the woods and it was all Riley could do to keep up with him. Soon enough she found herself standing in the middle of a small logging trail behind the Dragon Slayer. He looked around and said, "Somehow they brought the wagons through here, I can smell the wood from them. Kagura's scent is also mixed in with at least ten others."

Riley gave him a hard look, "Are you sure? If we go running off on a wild goose chase I'm going to be mad."

He turned and the fire burning in his eyes made her take a full step back, "Igneel told me to find a family and then do everything I can to defend it. I've found my family, now I'm defending it."

She looked at him and then said, "Alright, we'll go after them. First we have to go get our stuff and then make sure the wagon drivers are alright."

Natsu growled, "They have Kagura!"

Riley said in a sharp tone, "Kagura knows the risks that we take. Being a guild mage is a dangerous job! This is what she would want us to do!"

Somehow this seemed to calm him somewhat and he said shortly, "Fine. We'll go but we need to be quick about it."

She turned and led him back towards the campsite only a few minutes away. They quickly rolled up the sleeping bags and put them in their backpacks, Natsu hefting his own and Kagura's.

Riley quickly went over to the wagon drivers, found one that was awake, and explained the situation to him. They quickly came to the decision that the drivers would go with all speed to their destination and that the Mermaid Heel mages would recover the other three wagons.

She came back over to where Natsu was standing still as a statue at the campsite and said, "Alright, everything's taken care of. Let's go."

He turned without a word and set off at a brisk pace through the forest. She followed behind him, again barely keeping up. They got back to the logging trail and he set off down it. Riley tried her best to keep up with him but the fatigue of not getting a full nights rest and having to fight were starting to wear on her. It was still dark; the only light they had to see by was the full moon that shone down across their path.

She followed him but he only kept increasing his speed until they were going at a brutal pace. It was over fairly rough terrain as well; the logging path was really only a path wide enough for wagons that had been cleared of trees and had a few wheel ruts in it. Riley kept up with him for two hours, until the light of the new sun began to break over the horizon. By then they'd come out of the forest and emerged at the top of a tall bluff. In the distance she could see a town a few miles from the bottom of the bluff. She looked around and saw the spot where the bandits had taken the wagons down. She walked over to it and cautiously glanced over the edge. The path was steep but manageable, even in the dark. She glanced back at Natsu who was scenting the air and said, "I think they took the wagons down the cliff."

He nodded and said, "I know. We're not catching up with them though. They're moving faster in the wagons than we can on foot."

Riley took a second to think before saying, "Well, that doesn't matter too much. As long as you can track them, we can find them when they stop."

She glanced at him and could see his shoulders practically trembling. She knew it wasn't in nervousness or excitement, it was in a blind anger and eagerness for a fight. He said, "Well, we're going to have to make up time somehow."

He was suddenly standing next to her and she said cautiously, "What do you have in mind."

Natsu looked her in the eyes and said, "You trust me right?"

Riley nodded. He grinned at her and said, "Then hold on tight."

Suddenly she found herself in his arms being carried bridal style to the edge of the cliff. She practically screamed in his ear, "What the hell are you doing?"

He grinned and said, "Making up for lost time, and having some fun while I'm at it."

Her next words were lost in a terrified scream as Natsu jumped off the cliff. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and squeezed her eyes shut as they fell at an alarming rate, her dress flapping around her legs. She waited for the inevitable final impact but it never came. She slowly opened her eyes and found that she and Natsu were floating in the air. She could see behind him from her position in his arms and her eyes widened when she saw the fiery wings that protruded from his back.

They floated down to the ground and Natsu touched down lightly. The moment he did, Riley clambered out of his arms and fell flat on her butt. She quickly stood up and then shouted at him, "What the hell was that! You jumped off the damn cliff!"

He grinned, "Damn it's good to fly again. It would have taken us at least an hour to make it down that cliff by walking, I just saved us time."

Riley suddenly felt as if she wanted to puke from the sudden buildup of tension that his actions had caused and bent over slightly, putting her hands on her knees and trying to breathe deeply. After a few moments the feeling passed and she straightened up before saying, "You know how we talked about telling me what you're going to do before doing it?"

He nodded and she continued, "That was one of those times."

He grinned and rubbed his head in a slightly embarrassed fashion, "Sorry, I'm sure I'll get that one of those days."

Riley groaned and thought, 'One of these days he's going to go a step too far. I don't know what will happen then.'

She said out loud, "What's done is done. Come on, let's head for the town and we'll see if they've passed through there."

Natsu nodded and replied, "That's the way their scent is headed anyways."

It took them almost another two hours to make it to the town and by then the sun had fully risen and Riley guessed that it was close to eight in the morning. They passed through the gates of the town and she could tell that business for the day was really starting to get under way with the amount of carts that were rolling along the street and the vendors that were already out. She glanced around and caught sight of the guard station near the gates. She grabbed Natsu's arm and said, "We should check with the guards to see if they know anything."

Natsu glanced at them and shrugged, "I can just follow the scent but if you want to go ahead."

She led him over to the guards and went up to the sergeant and asked, "Did three wagons come through here earlier, probably a little bit before dawn?"

The large man in armor glanced at her and drawled, "Now what would a pretty little lady like yourself want to know that for? Shouldn't you be off on the farm? Instead you look like you've been tramping through the woods all night."

The blonde woman glared at him and said coldly, "Are you going to answer me or not?"

He smiled lewdly at her, "I always appreciated the wild look myself, and you're doing it pretty well."

Riley felt the anger building in her but tried to stay polite, "Just tell me, did three wagons come through here a few hours ago?"

The sergeant tapped his fingers to his chin in fake thought before saying, "I don't know, my memory isn't what it used to be. Nothing a little time with just the two of us couldn't fix I'm sure though."

Riley had had enough of this man. She held out one hand palm up and let a ball of lightning coalesce in it. She smiled grimly at the nervous look it caused on the sergeants face and said coldly, "I happen to be a guild mage with Mermaid Heel. If you want to be able to have children at all in the future, I'd suggest you stop with the lewd comments and give me the information I'm looking for."

The man was shaking now and he said as fast as he could, "Three wagons came through here just after dawn. They stopped for a bit to feed and water their horses but then kept going."

Riley let the lightning in her hand grow in intensity and said, "Who was driving the wagons?"

The sergeant continued quickly, "Ten guys, they were well armed and seemed to be guards for a caravan."

Riley decided she'd gotten everything she could out of the man and let the lightning dissipate. She turned away without another word and stormed off, pretty much forgetting that Natsu was behind her. She stalked through the city until she reached an empty alleyway. When she went down it she felt Natsu's hand on her shoulder and the Dragon Slayer said, "Whoa slow down, why are you so angry?"

The blonde spun and hissed at him, "That man! Men like him are exactly the reason why Mermaid Heel exists! The only reason you aren't like him is because you're too stupid to even want to get me flat on my back!"

Riley immediately regretted the words when she saw Natsu sigh deeply and a look of hurt enter his eyes. She quickly said, "I'm sorry Natsu, I don't know what came over me. That man just made me so mad, and I'm exhausted, I don't know why I said that."

The dragon slayer didn't seem to hear her as he said quietly, "Maybe joining this guild was a bad idea. Almost everyone hates me, and one of the three people that don't thinks I'm stupid."

Riley said quickly, "That's silly Natsu, nobody hates you. They just haven't had time to get to know you. To them you're just another guy, and a lot of Mermaid Heel mages don't like that. And I don't think you're stupid Natsu, you're just inexperienced when it comes to other people."

He snorted before shaking his head and saying, "It doesn't matter. Let's just go find Kagura."

Natsu started walking back out of the alleyway but Riley grabbed his arm, "Wait. We're both exhausted. We need to rest before we keep going otherwise we'll both be useless in a fight. Their base can't be that far away if they decided not to stay in the town and press on."

Natsu glanced at her, "I might not be able to pick the scent back up again, but I'm sure you know best."

The downcast look on his face made Riley feel even worse, "Natsu…"

He ignored her and said, "So do we find a hotel now or something?"

Riley looked at him for a few moments before sighing, "Yes, we'll get a few hours of sleep before heading out tonight."

She walked past him and said, "Come on."

They made their way through the town and found a small hotel. Natsu didn't say a word as she got a room and they both went to it, his normally cheerful face despondent. Riley unlocked the door and went in, the dragon slayer following her. Natsu tossed his and Kagura's bags on the floor next to the bed and went to flop down on it but stopped suddenly. Riley cocked her head and watched as the Dragon Slayer looked sadly at the bed, then went to the couch and threw himself down on it.

She sighed and said softly, "I'm going to take a quick shower."

Riley sighed when she didn't get a response from the Dragon Slayer. She took her bag into the small bathroom and set it down before turning on the shower. The blonde quickly stripped out of her clothes and looked critically at the back of her dress. She muttered, "I don't know how that didn't fall off during the night, but it's definitely ruined."

She stepped into the shower and let the water pour over her skin and relax her. As she washed she felt the exhaustion of the night hit her full force and she quickly finished. She stepped out and quickly dried herself off before throwing on another dress to sleep in. She quietly crept back out into the dark room and heard the snores of the Dragon Slayer coming from the couch. A small smile adorned her face as she looked at him for a moment, 'He was tired after all.'

Riley was about to make her way over to the bed when the Dragon Slayer started shifting and mumbling in his sleep. Instead of getting into bed she moved closer to the Dragon Slayer and heard him muttering, "Igneel… come back… Kagura's gone… come back…"

A stricken Riley stared down at the Dragon Slayer, 'I can't believe I was so horrible to him. He's just like a little kid.'

She reached down to stroke his head and run her fingers through his hair which seemed to calm him down. After a few moments she withdrew and went over to the bed, climbing in and laying down.

Exhaustion quickly overcame her but as she slipped off to sleep the snoring from the Dragon Slayer brought one more thought to her mind, 'Maybe if I just treat him like I used to treat my little brother…'

* * *

><p>Natsu woke up to the smell of food. He cracked his eyes and saw Riley sitting at a small table in the corner eating. He sat up and yawned asking, "What time is it?"<p>

The girl turned her head and answered, "It's just after sunset, we should be heading out soon."

Natsu nodded and stretched, trying to wake himself up. He jumped off the couch and walked over to the table saying, "Is there any food for me?"

Riley nodded and smiled at him and slid him a large plate piled high with food, "Kagura mentioned that you like meat."

Natsu grinned and dove in without another word, shoveling the food, mostly meat with a few other odds and ends, into his mouth as fast as he could. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Riley was gaping at him, and when he was done with his food he asked, "What? Is there some in my hair? That's happened before."

Riley burst out laughing and said, "No, I've just never seen anyone eat quite like that."

Natsu laughed as well and then got up to walk over to her and pull her into a back breaking hug, "Thanks for the food! It was great."

When he let her go the girl was gasping for breath and she said, "Didn't Kagura tell you not to do that?"

Natsu looked around and then said in a conspiratorial whisper, "If you don't tell her I won't."

Riley laughed again and said, "Fine, just… a little less force in the hugs from now on."

Natsu grinned but the smile slid off of his face when Riley sighed and said, "Look. I'm really sorry about yesterday. I was horrible to you. Is there any way for you to forgive me?"

Natsu thought for a moment and then slung an arm around her shoulder saying, "Don't worry about it. Anyone that gives me that much food can call me whatever they like."

Riley gave him a bemused look, "Are you serious?"

The boy grinned down at her and said, "Yep. That or you could fight me."

Riley gave a nervous chuckle and said, "Maybe, but I think we should find Kagura first."

Natsu withdrew his arm from around her and nodded saying, "Let's go then. I want to see if I can still pick up her scent."

He went over and hefted his and Kagura's bags and Riley pulled grabbed hers. They quickly left the hotel and Riley led him back to the front gates the last place they knew that the wagons had come through, "This is the best place I can think of for picking up their scent, so give it a go."

Natsu nodded and leaned his head back, breathing deeply through his nose, trying to find Kagura's scent. After a few deep breaths he grinned and said, "This way!"

He dashed off and could hear Riley behind him shouting, "Hey wait up! Not so fast!"

The dragon slayer followed Kagura's scent to the other side of town and stopped at the small gate there to wait for Riley. A few moments later she came puffing up beside him and said, "Don't do that! We need to stick together."

Natsu waved his hands around and said, "Fine, fine. Let's just go. I want to find Kagura."

Riley nodded and they both headed out the gate, onto a small road. Natsu muttered, "This is definitely the way they came, the scent is stronger here than it was in town."

He followed the road, scenting the air every step of the way to make sure that they didn't take a turn somewhere. Riley followed behind him, cautiously keeping her eyes peeled for anything. It was fully dark now, and neither of them could see very well, even though they were on a very flat part of the land. After about an hour walking down the road Natsu stopped and said, "They changed course. It goes this way now."

He started walking almost perpendicular to the road and soon they came to a large dip in the land. Natsu stood at the top of the hill and looked down thinking, 'It looks like someone just came in with a spoon and scooped up part of the earth. I wonder if it tasted good.'

He wasn't able to pursue that particular train of thought because Riley came up beside him and pointed down into the dip, "Look, there's a pretty large structure down there. I bet that's the bandit's hideout. It's the perfect place, anyone that doesn't actually get right up to it can't find it."

Natsu grinned and said, "Alright, let's go then."

He started to make his way down the hill but Riley grabbed his arm and scolded, "We can't just rush in, we need a plan!"

Natsu shook her off and said, "I have a plan. Beat up every person in there and then get Kagura back."

Riley sighed and said, "Natsu, what if there are a lot of them in there?"

Small licks of flame were beginning to come off of the Dragon Slayer's arms and he said dangerously, "Then I'll just burn them to ashes."

He began to march off and Riley followed him muttering, "Jeez, you're so impatient Natsu."

The Dragon Slayer laughed, "I'm always impatient for a fight. But now I'm fighting for something, not just for fun."

He didn't say another word as he charged off into the night and a moment later Riley followed him groaning, "If we mess this up Kagura is going to kill me."

Natsu came to the front of the large one story building. It was built of stone and seemed almost like a warehouse. There were two large wooden doors and when Natsu saw them he pounded his fist into an open palm and growled, "I'm all fired up!"

He launched himself forwards and blew the doors off their hinges with a flaming fist. Natsu stalked into the guild and saw that there were about 15 men sitting at tables scattered across a large room. All of them were staring at the doors in shock. He stiffened when he caught a scent on the air and looked directly forward towards the back of the room. There was Kagura, tied to a pillar with rents in her clothes, bruises all over, and magic restraining cuffs on her wrists. Natsu saw this and growled before shouting to the entire hall, "You're about to learn why you don't mess with Mermaid Heel!"

The man closest to him shouted, "Hey, ain't that an all women's gui…"

When he started speaking Natsu launched himself at him with a shout of, "**Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon!**"

The man was blown backwards and crashed through a pillar, causing the building to shake. Natsu gave the rest of the now scared looking men a feral smile and said, "I'm a dragon."

He charged the next group with a shout of, "**Roar of the Fire Dragon!**"

This sent most of them flying but one stood his ground, pulling out a large sword. Natsu grinned and was about to punch him when a bolt of lightning flew past him and shocked his opponent into unconsciousness. He turned to see Riley in the doorway grinning, "I couldn't let you have all the fun Natsu, save some for me."

He grinned back before charging two more men off to his right. He heard Riley shout, "**Volt Charge!**" and from the corner of his eyes saw balls of lightning fly at the bandits and explode. He grinned as he finished off his two and then turned around; noting that there were no more bandits left standing in the hall. Both he and Riley ran over to Kagura and when Natsu arrived he quickly burnt the ropes tying her up and ripped off the magic restraining cuffs. The dark haired girl glanced over his shoulder and then said, "There's one more."

They both turned as they heard a chuckle coming from a door that led out of the large hall. A broad shouldered man walked in, carrying a large two handed sword nonchalantly over one shoulder. He had a large scar across one cheek and a slightly off center nose from where it had been broken once. The man said in a deep voice, "I knew we were going to catch one Mermaid, but it looks like we have three now."

Riley shouted at him, "What do you mean?"

The man only continued laughing, "I'm the leader of these bandits. We were hired by a banker in Rose Town to intercept one of his shipments so that he could collect the insurance on it. As an added bonus, he said he'd hired Mermaid Heel to guard the convoy. What a perfect opportunity to make some money, and kidnap some women at the same time."

The leader glanced over at Natsu before saying, "Although it looks like Mermaid Heel has been branching out a bit, I'm not sure I like it. Do you need a big strong man to protect you now?"

Kagura laughed and then stepped forward, nudging Natsu and Riley out of the way. She said, "I don't think so. You're about to learn why you shouldn't look down on women."

The bandit laughed, "Shut up little girl. I already captured you once, I'll do it again."

Kagura leaned down and picked up a sword from one of the fallen bandits, "Last time there were 8 of you in the dark. This time there's only one of you, and you won't be catching me by surprise."

Natsu suddenly got what she was saying and whined, "Kagura, I wanted to fight him."

The dark haired girl said without taking her eyes off the bandit, "No, Natsu. I'm going to show him exactly how strong a Mermaid Heel woman is."

Kagura suddenly charged him with her sword held high and Natsu leaned over to mutter to Riley, "So not fair, she's hogging the strong one."

Riley laughed as they watched Kagura fight the bandit around the room. The two were fighting fiercely and it looked like neither one of them had an edge until the bandit made a massive overhand swing. Natsu caught the small grin that broke out on Kagura's face as she took one hand off the sword and a soft golden light surrounded it. Suddenly, the bandit leader found his sword not going down to cleave through Kagura, but flying upwards to impale itself in a low hanging beam.

The dark haired girl said, "This is the end."

The bandit only smiled and pulled his entire body up and hanging in the air by his sword before planting two feet into Kagura's chest and sending her crashing into a pillar. Natsu made to move forward and attack but Riley held him back. He grimaced and said, "She needs help."

Riley shook her head and said, "That may be, but she has to do this alone. Remember how you said you had something to fight for? Well, she does too. She may be young and new but she has the pride of a Mermaid Heel mage, and she can't let a man like him trample on it."

Natsu sat down against a pillar as he watched Kagura and the bandit continue to fight and sulked, "What about my pride as a Mermaid Heel mage? It's not fun getting left out of fights."

Riley laughed, "You were so serious yesterday and earlier today, what changed?"

Natsu grinned at her, "We got Kagura back and had a good fight. What more can you ask for? Well, you could ask for more food."

The blonde gave him a mock glare, "Is food and fighting all you think about?"

A crash sounded from where Kagura and the bandit were fighting and they both glanced up to see that Kagura had brought down part of the roof on the bandit using her gravity magic, trapping his legs underneath a thick support beam. Seeing that she'd won Natsu hopped up and ran over to her, veritably tackling the girl in a hug.

When he let her out of it there was a fire burning in her eyes as she said dangerously, "Natsu… what have I told you about hugs?"

The dragon slayer looked at her and felt himself becoming nervous before saying, "Oops?"

He took off running and heard Kagura roar from behind him, "Get back here Natsu! I need to teach you a lesson!"

He looked at Riley for help as Kagura chased him around the room but the blonde girl only smiled and waved saying, "It's your own fault Natsu."

He wailed, "But you let me hug you when we were at the hotel!"

Somehow this seemed to double Kagura's anger as she roared, "Unacceptable! You're going to learn your lesson Natsu!"

Natsu leapt up onto a table and was about to leap to another one when Kagura hit him from the side with a flying tackle. They went down together onto the floor and Kagura ended up on top, straddling his waist. He clenched his eyes shut waiting for the inevitable sword butt to the head but opened his eyes to see Kagura sighing above him. The girl said, "Alright Natsu. No more jobs until we get some manners into your head. This should be enough to get you a decent place to live, so when we get back it's lesson time."

He pouted, "That doesn't sound as fun as when Igneel gave me lessons. Those ended with me blowing stuff up."

Kagura laughed and stood up, pulling him up with her, "Well, the faster you learn manners, the faster we can get back out on jobs and you can start blowing stuff up again."

Natsu shouted, "Alright!" and went to hug her again but as he reached his arms out he stopped for a moment and then sadly put them down. Kagura saw this and laughed before giving him a small quick hug, "That's for coming to save me. Thanks."

She turned to Riley and said, "You too. I'm not sure I could have gotten out of here if you guys hadn't burst in."

Riley laughed, "It was mostly him. His nose is amazing. We probably never would have found you if it wasn't so powerful."

Natsu grinned at her praise and Kagura laughed, "Well he does keep saying he's a dragon. Come on. Let's get those wagons and get out of here. Also, Natsu give me my pack, I need to change."

Natsu handed her the pack and they all went out to the back of the building to find the wagons. Kagura climbed into the back of one and said, "Don't peek Natsu!"

Natsu shrugged and went over to another one to look at the contents of it with Riley. Suddenly he heard Kagura shouting from inside the wagon, "Where the hell are my socks Natsu! They were right next to my pack back at the camp."

The dragon slayers face paled as he muttered to Riley, "I didn't know she wanted those, so I just left them."

The blonde girl laughed and said, "You're in for a rough trip back Natsu."

He glanced at the wagons and turned green before groaning, "Don't remind me."


End file.
